


Even when

by Peonydkingpin



Category: Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, More tags to be added, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6168859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peonydkingpin/pseuds/Peonydkingpin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> Seek out your other half and sing... </i>
</p><p>Leaks, a young magician studying in the woods outside of Ransen, meets a curious sanga who's more than determined to become a part of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even when

Sixteen was supposed to be an important year in every cat’s life. It must have had something to do with the new responsibilities. Or, perhaps it was the chance to finally have a say in controlling ones own destiny. Either way, it was supposed to feel remarkable, somehow.

But when morning came, Leaks felt no different.

The idea of it hadn’t made much sense in the first place. The change from one day to another couldn’t possibly make one feel more mature or powerful, even when it meant they were a year older. In the end it was just a day like any other.

Clearly birthdays weren’t worth all the fuss.

It was useless to wait for something that wouldn’t happen, so instead he continued on with his daily training routine.

It was the week of the full moons and that meant one thing: mushrooms. Mushrooms were one of his favorites. Leaks used them as a base for countless of his potions. They also made for a good snack whenever he found that he had gone too long without eating while on an experimenting binge.  
With that in mind, he dressed and headed out with his bag in hand. But he hadn’t made it more than a few steps towards the entrance tunnel when there was suddenly a warm breath by his ear.

“You’re early.”

The fur on the back of his neck bristled and Leaks whipped about, a hiss bubbling up against his throat as he came face to face with his master. He’d never understand how the old shaman managed to always catch him off guard.

The look in Bojyo’s eye was intense, but soon enough he smiled. “While it is true that the early cat catches the bird, on a day such as this you needn’t be so zealous with your studies. Leaks… rest for a day; it would do you good!”

Leaks only huffed and took a step around him. “I’ll be back by evening.”

“The mushrooms can wait until tomorrow. The present cannot.”

He didn’t question how Bojyo knew where he was going, because the shaman always knew. “The mushrooms may wait,” Leaks turned back to his master as he slung the bag over his shoulder, “but dinner will not. Now, I’m off.”

Bojyo raised a brow before turning back the way he had come.

“Nonetheless, Leaks, heed my warning,” his quiet voice echoed off the walls enough for Leaks to hear as the shaman walked back towards his room.

“Warning? Yesterday you said the stars were watching me, and today you tell me what? To sit inside and do nothing?”

“They are,” Bojyo’s eye was sharp when he suddenly met his apprentice’s look. “The stars endlessly watch. Especially you, and especially now.”

Leaks muttered, “Sure they do,” with a roll of his eyes before he continued out of the small shrine they lived in.

“You can’t remain ignorant towards them forever.”

“ _Goodbye_ Bojyo!”

 

* * *

 

The day moon had only been risen for a short time as Leaks stalked into the forest. Morning was the best time to scavenge since dangerous monsters hunted there by night. They weren’t too much of a threat to Leaks. He knew enough spells to defend himself and, if necessary, he knew his way around a blade. But that didn’t mean he cared to tempt his luck.

And while the monsters were less active during the day, that didn’t mean that the forest was free of intruders. The cats from the nearby city of Ransen would occasionally venture into the forests depths. Some gathered herbs and mushrooms just as Leaks did. Others came to his master’s shrine to seek guidance. He welcomed those cats, although he stayed from their sight all the same. The cats who ventured deeper, on the other hand, were looking for trouble more often than not. A few would seek monsters to fight, all the while disturbing the balance of the forest in the process. The rest were cats whose curiosity was far beyond their control.

Those cats who wandered the paths often came after noon, so the early morning was the safest time. The cats, just as the monsters, posed no serious threat to Leaks. But Bojyo had warned him to be weary and so he was. The shaman was ridiculous, but he usually knew best.

Leaks headed along the path that skirted around the city and deeper into the forest. It took almost a day to make it to the mushrooms and back. There were countless other places that grew them, but there was something about that little grove that felt right to him. It would have been easier to teleport there, but part of the fun in collecting them was the trip and the time by himself that it gave.

The path he took was one that Bojyo said was often traveled by merchants, so he kept his eyes open even though he knew it well. There was a spell over the path to protect it from monsters which made it the safest way to travel. The magic on the path was old, but no matter how hard he looked Leaks never found any mention of it in his history books.

 

* * *

 

Someone had passed by recently. Leaks could discern little from his scent besides the cat’s gender and the fact he traveled from Ransen. All cats from Ransen held the same, busy smell. And even though he dreaded running into them, Leaks continued on. Returning to Bojyo’s piercing gaze didn't seem any better at the moment.

The scent faded as the trees grew thicker. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and continued on.

The place where the mushrooms grew the best was only a short distance off the path. He made it there in record time and gathered enough to fill his bag before he returned to the path. The moon of light was low in the sky by then and Leaks made sure to listen for anyone who might be there, be it a merchant or a monster.

The time by himself in the woods relaxed him and suddenly it didn't matter that he didn't feel any different today. It didn't matter that the excitement of birthdays had vanished, nor did it matter that Bojyo was being cryptic as always. The trees and animals around him continued to live and thrive, and he would too.

He wandered the path lost in his own thoughts for a good while and almost didn't notice when the scent from before had returned. Normally he'd have just continued on but something about the scent intrigued him.

He decided to take a look, but only just a peek. That couldn't hurt, right? If things looked bad he could teleport home with none the wiser.

_What cat from Ransen spends their whole day in the forest? A lost one, that's what._

The thought amused him to no end and with that he started after the scent. It lead off the path and into the forest.

A shaky twang rang out from beyond the bushes and he paused.

The sound didn't sit with him right. Something in the back of his mind told Leaks to turn tail and leave right then. But Leaks was never one to back down, so he continued forward even with the strange feelings tugging at his insides.

Leaks crouched low in the bushes and peeked through the branches.

The forest opened into a small clearing, and on an old fallen tree he sat. He looked younger than Leaks was, maybe fourteen, fifteen; too young to be alone in the forest after dusk.

The copper of his hair blended with the fall leaves as he sat with a leg crooked to hold the body of his lute. The instrument looked far too big for him to manage otherwise.

_A sanga?_

Leaks watched in silence as the cat pressed against the strings with shaky fingers. The note that followed was muted, and the cat chewed his lip as he tried again with no success.

_Or maybe not…._

If Leaks was honest, the ‘music’ sounded horrible. Each note was either butchered by a clumsy finger or hushed by a careless press of his palm.

The only word Leaks could think of to describe the cat’s expression was frustrated.

Leaks watched him struggle for a good while before he turned to leave. It was late before he had stopped and now with his curiosity sated it was definitely time to head back to the shrine.

It wasn't safe to be off the path this time of day.

_Does he know that though?_

He was much too young to be wandering the forest on his own. Even someone Leaks’ age normally shouldn't be out alone.

Leaks could defend himself, and had plenty of experience and advice from Bojyo, and because of that he was alright on his own. But this cat certainly was not. If he couldn't even hold a tune, he most certainly couldn't fend off a monster.

Leaks hesitated by the bush. Bojyo had told him to avoid the cats from Ransen if he could, and the few experiences he had had with them were never good. With fur as black as his distrust came easily, at least it had in the village he had lived before the shaman had taken him in. The cat could easily react badly to his help. Leaks really wasn't in the mood to deal with such trivial matters.

On the other hand, he'd likely die if Leaks left him alone out here. Did he even realize the danger he was in?

The groan of a branch snapping underfoot rattled Leaks from his thoughts and he jerked around to come face to face with the cat, his much too big lute clutched to his chest. Startled emerald eyes stared back at him as the cat swallowed thickly.

“… Did you, hear that…?”

**Author's Note:**

> Rating will likely rise in later chapters as they grow older and deal with life as it comes to them. I'm hoping to update this every other week at least, but we'll see how that goes.


End file.
